Day 1153

I shouldn't have been this tired today. We had a leisurely breakfast and attended a pet parade. That was about it. Maybe I just didn't get enough sleep. The dogs woke me up during the night, frightened by a passing thunderstorm. By the time I got back to sleep again, it was morning. The first thing I did when I got up was sweep the water off the roof. Since we were going to be away at a Mardi Gras parade for most of the day, I didn't want to give the water the upper hand.

After breakfast, we loaded the dogs and a bunch of Dalmatian Rescue stuff into the car and drove 32 miles north to McKinney, Texas. It took longer to drive up to McKinney than it took to parade around the town square. This was a very short parade. I think the dogs enjoyed themselves, but they were quite tired when they returned home late in the day.

Janet liked the little tracking wristlet I got the other day and bought one for herself. Not surprisingly, she is more active than I am. We both walked more than six miles though. Not bad for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Most of my walking was taking stuff back and forth from the car to where the Dalmatian Rescue tent was set up for the event. I'm glad this is the last event for a while. Like I said, I'm tired.

I've got to find a more effective way to get rid of the bugs that are finding their way into the house. This had been the worst Winter for bugs that I can remember. Other people we know are having the same problem. Maybe it's the warm Winter, or maybe the bugs are just getting tougher. They're certainly hard to get rid of this year. Especially, when you can't spread copious amounts of poison around the house. The growing population of feral cats in the neighborhood has pretty well taken care of the rat problem we used to have in the neighborhood. I guess these cats don't like bugs though. Or maybe the rats used to eat the bugs. I don't really know how the critter food chain works in the park.

It looks like a busy week ahead. It's time to start working on my taxes again. There are several writing jobs to complete. The house could use a good vacuuming too. I still don't know what to do with all the extra time I've unlocked by eating oatmeal. My elaborate breakfasts used to be one of the best time wasting activities I had.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1151

It was surprisingly busy for a day when nothing actually happened. I decided to try out somebody else's oatmeal on my Friday restaurant outing this morning. It was exactly the same as mine. Then I went to the grocery store and got more healthy food for dinner. When I got home, the liver institute called to schedule a MRI for later in the month. About an hour later, another doctor called to remind me of a blood test tomorrow.

At first glance, this may not seem like a very exciting life. My challenge these days is to make these new routines exciting. I have a feeling that my future may depend on them.

There were quite a few website revisions to make today. I have a feeling that all the websites I manage are slowly slipping away from me. A lot of what I do these days is making sure that the client's websites keep up with what they've already posted on Facebook. It's so easy to change stuff on social media sites that people start thinking their websites should be the same way. I shouldn't complain though. I would have been out of the website business a long time ago if it weren't for all these silly changes.

I finished a couple of writing jobs as well. I needn't have hurried though. My client had already left for the weekend by the time I turned them in. I don't know if I'm a better writer than I used to be, but I'm a much faster writer now. I amaze myself sometimes at how quickly I zip through these assignments.

The dogs are invited to another Mardi Gras parade this weekend. This one is a small local parade in McKinney, Texas. All we really do is walk the dogs around the block while we are circling the courthouse in the town square. It's fun when the weather is nice, and a little chilly on the years when Mardi Gras comes early. Whatever the weather is like this weekend, it's bound to be a lot nicer than what people are experiencing in the Northeast right now. Every Winter, I'm glad I live in Texas. Of course, every Summer I start to think otherwise.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 795

Today was a day only a duck could love. It rained and rained and rained. In fact, it's still raining. You guys probably know how I feel about rain by now. Janet wanted to give the dogs a bath because of the big Mardi Gras parade tomorrow. It was hopeless keeping them clean though. It was equally hopeless trying to keep the water off the roof. I went up twice today to sweep away the standing water and both efforts were futile. Within thirty minutes, the roof looked like a stock pond again. I'm surprised there were no ducks swimming around on the roof. There was certainly enough water for them. The rain will eventually stop, but until it does, I've resigned myself to cleaning up the dripping spots inside. Hopefully, the rain clouds will move on to the East tonight. This certainly isn't the best weather for a parade.

I connected the new shock mount I got yesterday to the microphone I got 25 years ago and everything screwed together perfectly. I was absolutely amazed. How many products stay exactly the same for 25 years? Not very many! the microphone was so old it said "Made in Western Germany" while the shock mount just said made in Germany. Despite the age difference, not a single dimension had changed. Best of all, the old mic is even more desirable today than it was then.

I like products like this. That's why I like my Defender 90 so much. The car has remained essentially unchanged for decades. Back when photographers still used film, I loved shooting with a Leica. There were no batteries. No real frills at all. It was just a precision tool that took great pictures and remained essentially unchanged for over thirty years.

A lot of people worship change these days, but not me. I'm irritated that my computer is continually out of date. I was happy enough with the computer I had ten years ago. It did everything I needed. It might not have been fast by today's standards, but it certainly seemed fast at the time. You couldn't give this ten year old computer away now. Nobody would want it. People collect old watches, old cars, and old cameras, but old computers are destined to become land fill.

When we took the dogs for a bath today, we discovered that the place is moving. The landlord had doubled the rent for the building and the owners are being forced to move elsewhere. What a shame. This place is so convenient that I can walk the dogs over to give them a bath. Once again I am reminded that change is not always for the better.

I do hope the weather changes soon though. We'll be going to the Krewe of Barkus parade whatever happens, and it would be so much nicer for everyone if the weather is cooperative.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 794

I went out for breakfast again this morning. On one side of me were two old ladies who kept taking the cash out of their purses and counting it over and over again for the duration of their meal. I don't know whether they were trying to calculate their tip or were worried that they didn't have enough to pay for their eggs. On the other side of me was a young couple wearing Doc Martins and festooned with tattoos. The shabby way these two were dressed, you could have sworn they lived in a trailer park. I knew better though. They were probably just advertising creative people. She was carrying a $1500 Coach purse and he had a pair of Porsche Design sunglasses perched on the top of his head.

I was trying to explain Klout to Janet recently. "It's this new website that sends you free stuff, based on how popular they think you are on the Internet," I told her. "If you're really popular, you might get free airline tickets or even a cruise. If you're like me, you'll get this grey dog blanket that came in the mail today." Hey, I'm not complaining though. Dot and Dash can always use a new dog blanket to go with the 27 others they already have.

Along with the grey Klout dog blanket, I also received a shock mount in the mail for a microphone I bought over 25 years ago. Why did I wait twenty five years to get a shock mount for this particular microphone? Lord only knows. Twenty five years ago, I was a serious songwriter. I wrote a new song every couple of days and was even considering moving to Nashville. I wonder what happened? Today, I'm just a guy who likes to get stuff in the mail.

I spent most of the day writing watch articles. My watch client has started a new marketing push that will keep me busy until the middle of March. I really need to check the Guinness Book of Records and see if this category has been covered. I can't imagine anybody writing more watch articles in a single year than I have.

Janet is finishing up costumes for the dogs to wear at the big Mardi Gras parade on Sunday. I think Dot is going as Miss America and Dash as a baseball player. Why? You'll have to ask the dogs about that.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 446

We spent the day in McKinney, Texas attending the annual Krewe of Barkus Mardi Gras Dog Parade. It's amazing how this event has grown over the years. There were thousands of people lining the streets and hundreds of dogs wearing outlandish costumes. McKinney is one of those little towns that a lot of people trapped by a career in a big city would rather live in. There are dozens of elegant looking bed and breakfast hotels housed in historic Victorian homes. The town square is filled with interesting restaurants, art galleries and eclectic boutiques. For once the weather was nice too. The festival is always held the week before Mardi Gras and when this falls in February, it can be pretty cold. Once again, Dot and Dash caught the attention of the media. A staff photographer for the Dallas Morning News took their pictures, asked what their names were and said the dogs may be in the paper tomorrow. I guess I'll go out and buy a paper in the morning. I'm tired of reading about the terrible economy and political unrest around the world, but I do like to know when my dogs are in the news.

Dash rode great in the car on the way home. We didn't hear a peep out of him during the entire trip. I think he actually went to sleep. The secret to car travel with Dash seems to be to make sure he's real tired before he ever get in the car in the first place.

I think we'll all sleep well tonight. Events like this are good for Dalmatian Rescue, but I'm glad we don't do them every week. By the time the tent has been taken down, the banners have been rolled up in their tubes again, and the brochures and dog treats are packed back in boxes, all most of the volunteers are thinking about is having a glass of wine as soon as they get home.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day